Sponsors (22)
The bill provides faster, actionable water-quality data and stronger permitting authority to protect communities and waterways, at the cost of added regulatory obligations for industry, potential litigation, and modest federal expenditures.
Rural residents and local governments near oil and gas operations will receive a federal study (within about 1 year) identifying groundwater contamination risks and aquifer susceptibility, giving them data to target protective actions and planning.
State and federal regulators may gain stronger Clean Water Act permitting authority over stormwater from oil and gas sites if statutory exclusions are narrowed, potentially improving oversight of pollutants entering waterways.
Oil and gas operators (utilities and energy companies) could face increased regulatory uncertainty and new permitting requirements, raising compliance costs and complicating operations.
Federal taxpayers will pay to fund the Interior study and report, creating additional federal costs.
Removing a statutory exclusion could prompt legal challenges that delay implementation and add costs for local governments and energy companies.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Narrows Clean Water Act exclusions for oil/gas stormwater runoff and requires DOI to study and report on potential contamination within 1 year.
Official title: To amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act and direct the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a study with respect to stormwater runoff from oil and gas operations, and for other purposes.
Introduced November 18, 2025 by Jared Huffman · Last progress November 18, 2025
Narrows Clean Water Act exclusions for stormwater related to oil and gas operations and directs the Department of the Interior to study areas that may be contaminated by stormwater runoff from oil and gas operations. The DOI must assess measurable contamination, groundwater resources, and aquifer susceptibility and report findings to Congress within one year of enactment. The change removes specified statutory exemptions and updates definitional language in the Clean Water Act, potentially bringing some stormwater discharges from oil and gas operations under CWA permitting or oversight that were previously excluded.